Process of method of filling the bottom cavities of shoes.



A. THOMA. PROCESS 0R METHOD OF. FILLING THE BOTTOM GAVITIBS OF SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30, 1912.

Patehted Aug. 27, 1912.

. an Improvement citizen of the United States,

ATES P TEN FFIO.

ANDREW THOMA, OF CAMBBIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO NORTH AMERICANCHEMICAL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.', A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

PROCESS OR. METHOD OF FILLING THE BOTTOM CAVITIES 0F SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

Original application filed April 28, 1906, Serial No. 314,127.- Dividedand this application filed March 30, 1912. Serial No. 687,385.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that'I, ANDREW THOMA, a andresident of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented in Processes or of Filling the BottomCavities of Shoes, of which the following description, in connec-- tionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on thedrawings representing like parts.

This is a division of my application Serial NO. 314,127, filed April 28,1906. r

In handling cementitious compositions of the kind known as fillers forshoe-bottoms, such as contained in my Patents Nos. 832,002, 855,868,861,555, the process which has almost invariably been followed has beenthat set forth in my Patent No. 808,224, of

December 26,1905, requiring the operator then finish the operation byrolling it down.

This requires skill and time.

Accordingly, my present rocess is an improvement in that I form t erequired pre determined amount of the plastic filler into approximatelythe shape and thickness corresponding to the cavity to be filled, andthen I place this died or shaped and formed layer, sheet or leaf of theplastic composition approximately in place in the cavity and subject toa leveling pressure which is preferably hot for facilitating thespreading and sticking of the filler piece or layer. By reason of mypresent improvement, practically all the necessity of skill iseliminated, and the speed with which the work can be done is greatlyincreased. While I prefer carrying out the process-in the presence ofheat, I donot intend to restrictthe invention thereto.

To carry out the present process, the filler must be plastic, i. e.moldable when in the sheeted and shaped form. In the next place, it mustso remain until after the leveling pressure has been applied thereto, inorder that the filler may be brought to the exact level or thinnessandthe exact expansion required to fill the cavity properly and to conformto the limits of the cavity. For

Methods 1 or shelf; and Figs. Land 5 front elevation and top plan of theleveling jacketed instance, the toe portion of the usual shoe cavity isdeeper than the ball portion, and in fact-some manufacturers bring theball portion of the innersole practically to the same level as theoutersole, so that at the center of the ball there is very little or nodepth whatever to the cavity, although there is some depth next to theinseams even at the ball portion of the shoe-bottom. Hence, for thesevarious reasons the filler, according to my present process, must beplastic and remain so for an appreciable length of time. Preferably theleveling is efiected immediately after dumping or placing the died orshaped layer in the cavity, but I- donct remanner to proper pressurewhen applied thereto, irrespective of whether the pressing deviceapplies said pressure directly on the filler or on a covering sole, andwhether the pressure is applied simultaneously over practically theentire bottom or is applied progressively as by a roll.

\Nhile, therefore, my process is capable of being carried out by a widevariety of mechanisms or in fact Without any organized machine, Ipreferto use the machine shown, by way of illustration, in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure '1, is a central vertical sectional view ofthe upper portion of the machine; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail lookingat the front end of the rotarv die or valve, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the supporting ledge roll and scraper. v

011 a pedestal 1 is a filler chamber 2 steamat 3 from a source 4 andwith a door 5 to admit the filler eaves 6 placed on a skeleton shelf 7from which they may automatically fall, as melted, into the sluggishlyplastic mass beneath. The filler mass tends to slide down the inclinedwall 3 to the nozzle 9, being aided by a plunger 10 are views in rovidedI operated by a foot lever 11. The bottom 12 slides longitudinallybeneath a rotary delivery device and dieing or shaping means 13 mountedin the outlet or nozzle to rot-ate on a steam pipe 14 as an axis. Thisdie or filler-shaper 13 is shown as cylindrical and provided-With fourdie-pockets'15 each having the general shape or contour of theshoebottom to be filled, and containing a movable dumping bottom 16whose ends 17 18 work in guides 19 in the ends of the fillercarrier anddieing device 13. Means for regulating the depth of the pockets 15 isshown I as consisting of cams 21 fast on the ends of a sleeve 22 mountedon the pipe 14. The device 13 for shaping the filler in the desireddied-out, sheet-like fiat portions is rotated by handles 23.

The bottom 12 slides on a track 2e provided with a tapper 25 pivoted at26, whose depending end 27 is struck by the rear end of the bottom 12when the latter has been slid rearwardly, so that the forward end of themember 25 taps the'end 18 of the lowermost movable bottom and therebypositively dumps or ejects the separated shapedportion of filler fromthe bottom pocket or die. The toe of the shoe engages a projection 29for sliding the bottom back from the die when the shoe is moved intoplace for receiving the filler, and said bottom is retracted by atension spring 30 secured at its forward end to a stationary part of thebottom in which the movable bottom 12 slides and secured at its rear endto said movable bottom. Just in front of the die is a leveling tool,shown as a roll 31 mounted to turn on a steam pipe 32. As some grains offiller are liable to be crowded over onto the welt by the hot roll,scraping knives 33 are shown as loosely pivoted at34 for dragging overthe welt as the roll is applying its leveling pressure to the filler inthe shoe-cavity.

In use, the pockets fill automatically with the filler, and as thedevice 13 is rotated, it cuts off an even layer or leaf-like piece offiller, which is thereby given the approximate died-out shape or contourof the shoebottom cavity, so that all the operator has to do is simplyto shove the shoe forward and then draw it back again. No skill isrequired and no appreciable time is lost. As he shoves the shoe forward,the bottom 12 is removed from its filler-retaining position so that theshaped piece of filler is permitted to drop into the cavity which isbeing filled, or if the bottom is moved back far enough to strike theejector, said shaped piece of filler is positively dumped into thecavity, and then, as the shoe is pulled quickly forward, it is broughtforcibly against the roll 31, which presses and packs this sheet offiller down hard into the shoebottom so as to be spread instantly andaccurately into all the marginal portions of ner of carrying out theprocess, he has both hands free. On the other hand, if the process iscarried out without any machine, all that is necessary is to die out thepiece of plastic filler, drop it into the shoe-cavity, apply the solethen or later, as may be desired, and subject said plastic filler to avertical leveling pressure sufficient to cooperate with the plasticityof the filler in pressing the filler downward and at the same timelaterally in all directions sufficiently to conform the plastic layer tothe varying depths and the other conformation of the bottom cavity.Preferably my process is carried out when the filler is heated and theleveling tool is heated, as thereby the stickiness of the filler isrendered active and more permeating and also the filler layer is mademore yielding or moldable and adhesive, but the process may be carriedout cold, only not so advantageously. I

Having described my invention, what-I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. The herein described process, consisting of dieing-out or shaping alayer of filler approximately to the shape of the shoe-bottom cavity tobe filled, applying said died-out piece to said cavity in a plasticcondition, and then applying to the filler layer a leveling pressure.

2. The herein described process, consisting of providing filler in aplastic condition, removing therefrom a leaf-like portion havingapproximately the shape of the cavity to be filled, applying saidremoved portion of plastic filler to the cavity of the shoebottom, andsubsequently applying vertical pressure to the plastic filler in theshoebottom suflicient to conform the plastic layer of filler to thedesired bottom level.

3. The herein described process, consist-- ing of providing filler in aplastic condition, removing therefrom a leaf-like portion havingapproximately the shape of the cavity to be filled, applying saidremoved portion of plastic filler to the cavity of the shoe-bottom, andimmediately applying ver tical pressure in the presence of heat to theplastic filler in the shoe-bottom sufiicient to conform the plasticlayer of filler to the desired bottom level.

4. The herein described process, consisting of providing filler in aplastic condi-' tion, removing therefrom a leaf-like portion havingapproximately the shape of the cavity to be filled, maintaining the samein the presence of heat, applying said removed heated portion of plasticfiller to' the cavity of the shoe-bottom, and subsequently ap- 5 plyingvertical pressure to the plastic filler in the shoe-bottom sufiicient toconform the plastic layer of filler to the desired bottom level.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of 10 two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW THOMA.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. MAXWELL, WALLACE A. SHIPTON.

